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Grooming as a standalone criminal offence
Across Australian states, grooming laws are designed to criminalise predatory conduct that prepares or encourages a child for sexual activity.

- In Victoria, the offence targets “predatory conduct designed to facilitate later sexual activity with a child” and applies to communication in person or online.   
- In NSW, grooming includes communication, providing indecent material, or other conduct intended to make it easier to procure a child for unlawful sexual activity. Intent is the core element.   
- Queensland law similarly criminalises conduct directed at a person under 16 (or someone believed to be under 16) when the adult’s behaviour is aimed at sexual exploitation.

These laws do not require that sexual contact occur. They criminalise the process of preparing a child for exploitation.

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What counts as grooming behaviour
Grooming can include:

- Sexualised conversation with a child  
- Attempts to normalise sexual content  
- Providing sexualised material  
- Building trust or emotional dependence with an ulterior sexual purpose  
- Isolating the child from protective adults  

The National Office for Child Safety emphasises that grooming is a pattern of behaviour aimed at creating opportunities for abuse.

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Does “talking sexily to children” qualify?
If an adult—celebrity or not—engages in sexualised communication with a child with the intention of facilitating sexual activity, that behaviour can meet the legal definition of grooming.

Key points:

- Intent matters: Prosecutors must show the adult intended to make sexual activity more likely.  
- Sexualised communication alone can be enough if it is part of conduct aimed at preparing the child for exploitation.  
- No physical contact is required for the offence to be complete.  
- Public figure status is irrelevant; the law applies identically to celebrities and non‑celebrities.

So yes—under Australian grooming laws, sexualised communication with a child can be a felony‑level offence (or serious indictable offence) even without underage sex occurring.

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A nuance worth noting
Not every inappropriate or sexualised comment automatically meets the legal threshold. Courts look at:

- Whether the conduct was directed at a child  
- Whether the adult knew or believed the person was underage  
- Whether the behaviour was intended to facilitate sexual activity  

But when those elements are present, the law treats grooming as a serious standalone crime.

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If you want, I can walk through how different Australian states define intent in grooming offences, or how courts have interpreted sexualised communication in past cases.